Aircraft lightning avoidance systems and methods

ABSTRACT

According to one implementation of the present disclosure, a method is disclosed. The method includes: detecting, on or proximate to one or more surfaces of an aircraft, a presence of an electric-field above a predetermined threshold; and in response to the detection, activating one or more beam sources to generate an ionized column of charge away from the aircraft.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND

This section is intended to provide background information to facilitatea better understanding of various technologies described herein. As thesection's title implies, this is a discussion of related art. That suchart is related in no way implies that it is prior art. The related artmay or may not be prior art. It should therefore be understood that thestatements in this section are to be read in this light, and not asadmissions of prior art.

Aircrafts are often vulnerable to lightning strikes because they aremade of conductive materials. Flying an aircraft into a storm oftenprovides a conductive path for lightning discharges (i.e., leaderattachment) to occur and hence, the likelihood of lightning strikeincreases. Accordingly, avoidance of leader attachment is an ongoingneed in the art.

SUMMARY

According to one implementation of the present disclosure, a method isdisclosed. The method includes: detecting, on or proximate to one ormore surfaces of an aircraft, a presence of an electric-field above apredetermined threshold; and in response to the detection, activatingone or more beam sources to generate an ionized column of charge awayfrom the aircraft.

According to another implementation of the present disclosure, a systemis disclosed. The system includes: one or more sensors coupled to one ormore aircraft surfaces and configured to detect whether a presence of anelectric field, on or proximate to one or more aircraft surfaces, isabove a predetermined threshold; and one or more control systems coupledto the one or more sensors, where the one or more control systems areconfigured to receive sensor data from the one or more sensors and toactivate one or more beam sources to generate an ionized column ofcharge away from an aircraft.

According to one implementation of the present disclosure, a method isdisclosed. The method includes: detecting, on or proximate to one ormore aircraft surfaces, a presence of an electric-field above apredetermined threshold; and in response to the detection, providing acurrent to the one or more aircraft surfaces.

The above-referenced summary section is provided to introduce aselection of concepts in a simplified form that are further describedbelow in the detailed description section. Additional concepts andvarious other implementations are also described in the detaileddescription. The summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter, nor is itintended to limit the number of inventions described herein.Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited toimplementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part ofthis disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present technique(s) will be described further, by way of example,with reference to embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. It should be understood, however, that the accompanyingdrawings illustrate only the various implementations described hereinand are not meant to limit the scope of various techniques, methods,systems, or apparatuses described herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram in accordance with implementations ofvarious techniques described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram in accordance with implementations ofvarious techniques described herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram in accordance with implementations ofvarious techniques described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates a diagram in accordance with implementations ofvarious techniques described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrate graphs in accordance with implementations of varioustechniques described herein.

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate diagrams in accordance with implementations ofvarious techniques described herein.

FIG. 7 is a particular illustrative aspect of methods in accordance withimplementations of various techniques described herein.

FIG. 8 is a particular illustrative aspect of methods in accordance withimplementations of various techniques described herein.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a computer system in accordance withimplementations of various techniques described herein.

Reference is made in the following detailed description to accompanyingdrawings, which form a part hereof, wherein like numerals may designatelike parts throughout that are corresponding and/or analogous. It willbe appreciated that the figures have not necessarily been drawn toscale, such as for simplicity and/or clarity of illustration. Forexample, dimensions of some aspects may be exaggerated relative toothers. Further, it is to be understood that other embodiments may beutilized. Furthermore, structural and/or other changes may be madewithout departing from claimed subject matter. References throughoutthis specification to “claimed subject matter” refer to subject matterintended to be covered by one or more claims, or any portion thereof,and are not necessarily intended to refer to a complete claim set, to aparticular combination of claim sets (e.g., method claims, apparatusclaims, etc.), or to a particular claim. It should also be noted thatdirections and/or references, for example, such as up, down, top,bottom, and so on, may be used to facilitate discussion of drawings andare not intended to restrict application of claimed subject matter.Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken tolimit claimed subject matter and/or equivalents.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While flying near storms, aircrafts may often be vulnerable to lightningstrikes. Lightning strikes occur when in a lightning environment,surfaces of an aircraft become sufficiently charged such that bothmetallic and dielectric parts of the aircraft are temporarily polarized.Systems and methods of the present disclosure proactively avoid, or atthe very least, temporarily avoid the completion of a full lightningdischarge path on or near the aircraft. Accordingly, aircrafts maysafely navigate airspace in the proximity of storms.

According to research and modeling associated with the inventive aspectsdescribed herein, it is observed that conditions for lightning strikesripen when the formation of tiny channels of ionized air (i.e., ionizedplasma channels) are stabilized with electric and magnetic fields (thatmay be generated by the movement of the ionized plasma channels throughatmospheric air). This stabilization is known as the formation of“stable streamers”. Next, as stable streamers come in contact (i.e.,connect) with “lightning leaders” (i.e., ionized plasma columns/channelsgenerated when metallic and dielectric surfaces of an aircraft surfaceare sufficiently charged), “leader attachment” would result. Theconnection between the stable streamers and lightning leaders ishenceforth referenced as leader attachment. Once leader attachment maybe achieved, a full lightning discharge path may be completed, andconditions would now be present for imminent lightning strikeoccurrences and re-occurrences.

In certain implementations, the systems and methods provide lightningleaders a more attractive path for attachment safely away from aircrafts(e.g., airplanes, rotorcrafts, commercial drones, unmanned aerialvehicles, etc.). Advantageously, in such implementations, the inventiveaspects provide for the “firing” of concentrated “bursts” of ion beams(i.e., charged particle beams) in an environment conducive to lightningstrikes a safe distance away from an aircraft. By doing so, lightningattachment would preferentially occur through the ion beam and not theaircraft. Hence, the ion beams may emulate an ionized plasma channelsimilar to that of a stable streamer. Accordingly, variousimplementations described herein allow for the avoidance of lightningstrikes.

In some implementations, the systems and methods may prevent leaderattachment from forming near or on an aircraft for a time periodsufficient for the aircraft to travel a safe distance away from lightingleaders. In such implementations, the inventive aspects provide for thedetection of an increase in electric field on aircraft surfaces, and inresponse, provide transmission of currents to such aircraft surfaces soas to disrupt surface magnetic fields.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, example aerial systems 100, 200 (e.g.,aircraft systems) implementing lightning avoidance systems using chargedparticle beams (e.g., ion or electron beams) are shown. In certainexamples, as illustrated in both FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the aircraftsystems 100, 200 may include one or more aircraft surfaces 110, 210 oneor more sensors 120, 220 (e.g., electroscope sensors), a first controlsystem 130, 230 (i.e., a first control logic system), a second controlsystem 140, 240 (i.e., a second control logic system), one or more beamsources 150, 250 (e.g., thermionic emitters 150 or gated radioactivesources 250) and a power source 160. In one implementation, as shown inFIG. 1, the aircraft system 100 includes one or more thermionic emitters150 (as the beam source) to transmit a trailing discontinuous chargedparticle beam 170 (e.g., an ion beam) to generate an ionized a column ofcharge away from the aircraft. In another implementation, as shown inFIG. 2, the aircraft system 200 includes one or more gated radioactivesources 250 (as the beam source) (having a door for pulsation) totransmit a trailing discontinuous charged particle beam 270 (e.g., anelectron beam) to also generate an ionized a column of charge away fromthe aircraft. Advantageously, in both implementations, the ionizedcolumn of charge would attract a potential leader attachment 180, 280 ofa lightning strike episode at a safe distance away from the aircraft.Moreover, the first and second control systems 130, 140; 230, 240 may beelectrically coupled (e.g., physically or wirelessly coupled) to therespective one or more sensors 120, 220 (e.g., electroscope sensors) andthe respective one or more beam sources 150, 250.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the one or more aircraft surfaces 110, 220 are shownto be in a lightning zone 112, 212. A lightning zone 112, 212 includesregions (the length of “X”) of the aircraft surfaces 110, 220 that havethe highest likelihood of leader attachment 180, 280) (e.g.,significantly above a predetermined leader attachment 180, 280threshold). In various implementations, the lightning zones 112, 212 maybe predetermined based on prior operational lightning data analysisand/or real-time data received while in operation.

In certain implementations, the one or more aircraft surfaces 110, 210may include different metal materials including, but not limited to,aluminum, titanium, and their respective alloys. Moreover, such aircraftsurfaces 110, 210 may be found on any exterior metal portion (i.e.,metal surface) of the aircraft including, but not limited to thefuselage (i.e., body), wings, fins, etc. In certain cases, where theaircraft may be a rotorcraft, the aircraft surfaces may include anyexterior metal portion (i.e., metal surface) including, but not limitedto the main rotor, the tail boom, tail rotor, etc.

The one or more sensors 120, 220 of the aerial systems 100, 200 mayinclude any type of sensor that can detect the presence of electriccharge on the various aircraft surfaces 110, 210 (i.e., surfaces)including, but not limited to, electroscope sensors. In such instances,the electroscope sensors may provide an approximate indication of thequantity of charge on such surfaces 110, 210. In some cases, the sensors120, 220 may be coupled to but separate from the aircraft surfaces 110,220 and in other cases, the sensors 120, 220 may be attached to anunder-side (e.g., underneath, behind) of the aircraft surfaces 110, 210.

In various cases, charging of the aircraft surfaces 110, 210 may benon-uniform. For instance, surfaces 110, 210 that include sharp edges,such as the nose, tail, discharge wicks, and rotors may be charged muchfaster and to much higher potentials in comparison to other surfaces.Measurements of charge may be accomplished by placing the sensors 120,220 (e.g., electroscopes) underneath the surfaces 110, 210. In certaininstances, many sources of static fields may be present inside theaircraft, and hence, appropriate care should be taken to tune thesensors 120, 220 to a threshold that would be crossed on the account oflightning and not because of, for example, triboelectric charging orinternal fields. It is further noted that the process of streamerformation would involve development of vast amounts of charges on theaircraft surfaces 110, 210. Also, the charging of the metallic anddielectric parts of the of the aircraft surfaces 110, 210 would betemporary and would last for a duration of external excitation.

In various implementations, the first control system (i.e., firstcontrol logic) 130, 230 may be configured to receive sensor data (i.e.,charging sensor data) from the sensors 120, 220 and in turn, activateoperation of lighting avoidance systems (as described herein). In someimplementations, the second control system (i.e., second control logic)140, 240 may be configured to control the ion beam source 150, 250, uponreceiving activation control signals from the first control system 130,140. Accordingly, at the appropriate time, the first control system 130,230 may activate a second control system (i.e., second control logic)140, 240 to provide for the transmission of charged particle beams 170,270. In certain instances, the first control system 130, 230 may performsignal processing tasks while the second control system 140, 240 mayperform control signal generation. In one alternative implementation(not shown), the two control systems 130, 140; 230 240 may be replacedby respective signal conditioning system and a control logic system. Inanother alternative implementation, the first and second control systems130, 230 and 140, 240 may be integrated into one control system bothreceiving data from the sensors 120, 220 and control activation of theion beam source 150, 250 for transmission of charged particle beams 170,270.

The first and second control systems (i.e., first and second controllogics) 130, 140; 230, 240 of the aerial system 100 may be either fullyseparated from, separate but coupled to, or incorporated within aprimary electronic control system. In certain implementations, one orboth of the first and second control systems 130, 230 and 140,240 may bea part of a flight control computer of an aircraft (e.g., a fly-by-wirecontrol system of a rotorcraft). Such a flight control computer (notshown) may include a control laws module that generates actuatorposition commands to move actuators based on sensor data from variousflight control sensors. Specifically, the first and second controlsystems 130, 140 would include control logic to implement the procedure700 (as described with reference to FIG. 7) and as part of an activelightning strike avoidance program 924 (as described with reference toFIG. 9).

As shown in FIG. 1, in one example, the one or more thermionic emitters150 (i.e., beam source 150) may generate either ion or electron beams(e.g., charged particle beams 170). In certain implementations, theprocess of thermionic emission may include the release (i.e., discharge)of electrons from an electrode by virtue of its temperature (i.e., therelease of energy supplied by heat). Hence, electron emission would becaused by a sufficiently high level of thermal energy. In certaininstances, each of the one or more thermionic emitters 150 may becoupled to an accelerating tube (e.g., similar to a cathode ray tube)(not shown) or a miniature cyclotron (not shown) (coupled to a vent torelease electron beams into air space).

As shown in FIG. 2, in another example, the one or more gatedradioactive sources 250 (i.e., beam source 250) (with a door forpulsation) may generate ion beams (i.e., charged particle beams 270). Incertain implementations, the one or more gated radioactive sources 250may include a known quantity of radionuclide that emits ionizingradiation. In some instances, the one or more radioactive sources 250may include one or more of alpha emitters, positron emitters, betaemitters, gamma ray sources, or neutron radiation sources. However,while neutron radiation sources may be utilized as a radioactive source250, neutron radiation sources may be less reliable than the otheroptions as neutron radiation emissions are uncharged and may ionize airmolecules during collusion.

The one or more beam sources 150, 250 may be designed to transmitcharged particle beams 170, 270 in any one direction inthree-dimensional air space. For example, the one or more beam sources150, 250 may emit ion beams 170, 270 in “pulses”, where each pulseduration may be between 1 ms and 100 ms. Moreover, an example, “off”time would include the pulse duration and an addition 10 ms. Hence, inoperation, the charged particle beams would be discontinuous. Also, theone or more beam sources 150, 250 may be configured to emit the chargedparticle beams 170, 270 at a length corresponding to a mean free pathgreater than a path threshold, where the path threshold corresponds to apredetermined safe distance interval. Moreover, the predetermined safedistance interval may correspond to a distance required to prevent astable streamer formation on the aircraft. In various cases, when themean free path of a free ion beam in air is relatively low, the range ofeffect (cm) may be similarly low as well (e.g., when Alpha energy is 4MeV, the range may be 4 cm; and when Alpha energy is 10 MeV, the rangemay be above 10 cm). The parameters that may determine the mean freepath for an ion in air include, but are not limited to: the density ofair at a given altitude (e.g., lower density, higher path length); themass of the ion; the charge on the ion; and kinetic energy. In addition,the presence of an electric field in the air (e.g., during a lightningepisode) may further increase ion energy, thus, also increasing therange of the mean free path.

In certain implementations, the power source 160 may be incorporated aspart of the aircraft's power bus or from an independent source.Independent sources In certain implementations, the power source mayinclude generators, alternators, ultracapacitors or supercapacitors,regenerative systems or auxiliary power units, or batteries (e.g., lead,acid, or lithium ion battery types).

Advantageously, systems and methods as described with reference to FIGS.1 and 2 transmit “pulses” away from an aircraft (e.g., behind) such thatbroken trails of charge may be created than can selectively drawlightning away from the aircraft. The charge particle beams 170, 270would be discontinuous so as to prevent a backflow of current back tothe aircraft from the lighting leader through the conducting ion column.Hence, the systems and methods provide for the capacity to reduce thelikelihood of leader attachment.

Referring to FIG. 3, an example aerial system 300 (e.g., aircraftsystem) implementing lightning avoidance systems by utilizing current togenerate a local varying magnetic field (i.e., one or more magneticfields) is shown. In one example, as illustrated, the aerial system 300may include one or more aircraft surfaces 310, one or more sensors 320(e.g., electroscope sensors), a. first control system 330 (i.e., controllogic system), a waveform generator 340, and a power source 350. Alsoshown in FIG. 3 are one or more local varying magnetic fields 370 (i.e.,magnetic fields) and potential leader attachment 380 of a lightningstrike episode. The control system 330 may be electrically coupled(e.g., physically or wirelessly coupled) to the aircraft surfaces 310,the one or more sensors 320 (e.g., electroscope sensors), the waveformgenerator 340, and the power source 350.

Similar to FIGS. 1 and 2, in FIG. 3, the one or more aircraft surfaces310 is shown to be in a lightning zone 312 (e.g., areas of the one ormore aircraft surfaces 310 that may be significantly above apredetermined leader attachment 380 threshold). In variousimplementations, the lightning zones 312 may be predetermined based onprior operational lightning data analysis and/or real-time data receivedwhile in operation.

Furthermore, like FIGS. 1 and 2, in various implementations, the one ormore aircraft surfaces 310 may include different metal materialsincluding, but not limited to, aluminum, titanium, and their respectivealloys. Moreover, such aircraft surfaces 310 may be found on anyexterior metal portion (i.e., metal surface) of the aircraft including,but not limited to the fuselage (i.e., body), wings, fins, etc. Incertain cases, where the aircraft may be a rotorcraft, the aircraftsurfaces may include any exterior metal portion (i.e., metal surface)including, but not limited to the main rotor, the tail boom, tail rotor,etc.

In contrast to FIGS. 1 and 2, however, a respective metallic sub-surface312 (e.g., on under regions) may also be adjoined to each of theaircraft surfaces 310. Advantageously, such respective metalsub-surfaces 312 may be designed and configured for the transmission ofmagnetic fields. In certain implementations, the metal sub-surfaces 312may also be coupled to the power source 350 and the wave form generator340 (e.g., high power electronic switching circuits that generate anddrive the required currents and frequencies for magnetic field 370transmission).

Similar to the sensors 120, 220, the one or more sensors 320 of theaerial system 300 may include any type of sensor that can detect thepresence of electric charge on the various aircraft surfaces 320 (i.e.,surfaces) including, but not limited to, electroscope sensors. In suchinstances, the electroscope sensors may provide an approximateindication of the quantity of charge on such surfaces 320. In somecases, the sensors 320 may be coupled to but separate from the aircraftsurfaces 320 and in other cases, the sensors 320 may be attached to anunder-side (e.g., underneath, behind) of the aircraft surfaces 320.

In various cases, similar to the aircraft surfaces 110, 210, charging ofthe aircraft surfaces 310 may be non-uniform. For instance, withreference to aircrafts and rotorcrafts, surfaces 310 that include sharpedges, such as the nose, tail, discharge wicks, and rotors may becharged much faster and to much higher potentials in comparison to othersurfaces. Measurements of charge may be accomplished by placing thesensors 320 (e.g., electroscopes) underneath the surfaces 310. Incertain instances, with reference to aircrafts, many sources of staticfields may be present inside the aircraft, and hence, appropriate careshould be taken to tune the sensors 320 to a threshold that would becrossed on the account of lightning and not because of, for example,triboelectric charging or internal fields. It is further noted that theprocess of streamer formation would involve development of vast amountsof charges on the aircraft surfaces 310. Also, the charging of themetallic and dielectric parts of the of the aircraft surfaces 310 wouldbe temporary and would last for a duration of external excitation.

The control system (i.e., control logic) 330 may be configured toreceive sensor data (i.e., charging sensor data) from the sensors 320and in turn, activate operation of lighting avoidance systems (asdescribed herein). At the appropriate time, the control system 330 mayactivate the waveform generator 340 to generate a local varying magneticfield 170 to be transmitted to the one or more aircraft surfaces 310. Indoing so, high currents (300-700A) may be transmitted up through the oneor more metallic sub-surfaces 314 and the one or more aircraft surfaces310 in the lightning zone 312. Further, in various implementations, thecontrol system 130 may activate different portions of aircraft surfaces310 for current transmission depending on the respective lightning zone312.

The control system (i.e., control logic) 330 of the aircraft system 300may be either fully separated from, separate but coupled to, orincorporated within a primary electronic control system. In certainimplementations, the control system 300 may be a part of a flightcontrol computer of an aircraft (e.g., a fly-by-wire control system of arotorcraft). Such a flight control computer (not shown) may include acontrol laws module that generates actuator position commands to moveactuators based on sensor data from various flight control sensors.Specifically, the control system 330 would include control logic toimplement the procedure 800 (as described with reference to FIG. 8) andas part of an active lightning strike prevention program 924 (asdescribed with reference to FIG. 9).

The local varying magnetic field 370 (i.e., magnetic fields, one or moremagnetic fields) may include one or more vector fields that describe themagnetic influence of electric charges in relative motion. In operation,the magnetic field 370 would repel magnetic materials of a plasmachannel (generated in the clouds) to prevent leader attachment. Inachieving field destabilization, at elevated frequencies (approximatelybetween 80-150 Hz), the magnetic field 370 generated at a point ofleader attachment 380 would cause the plasma channels to be “stretched”out in opposing directions. In doing so, charge trapped by the internalfields of a stable streamer can be released. Hence, plasma channelcollapse would result.

In certain cases, the waveform generator 340 may be any type of signalgenerator used to generate the magnetic fields 370 over a wide range ofsignals. Furthermore, the waveform generator 340 may include or befurther coupled to high power switching circuits to generate therequired currents and frequencies for activation.

In certain implementations, the power source 350 may include generators,alternators, ultracapacitors or supercapacitors, regenerative systems orauxiliary power units, or batteries (e.g., lead, acid, or lithium ionbattery types). The power source 350 may be provide the power necessaryfor the waveform generator to drive the required currents andfrequencies.

Advantageously, systems and methods as described with reference to FIG.3 provide a local varying magnetic field 370 to repel leader attachment380. In doing so, surface currents would destabilize the electric andmagnetic fields that hold the ionized plasma channels intact. For suchimplementations, high intensity, low frequency signals (e.g.,approximately 500A) may be optimally utilized. Moreover, such systemsand methods do not require any exterior surface modification, and thusno impact to aircraft aerodynamics would result.

Referring to FIG. 4, a diagram (i.e., a visualization) of the Kármánvortex street 400 is shown. The Kármán vortex street 400 is a repeatingpattern of swirling vortices, caused by a process known as vortexshedding. Vortex shedding would be responsible for the unsteadyseparation of flow of a fluid around blunt bodies. Also, as shown inFIG. 4, the point at where vortex shedding would commence is known asthe Kármán vortex point 410. As observed and verified through modeling,the Kármán vortex street 400 may correspond to charging theory in thedevelopment of lightning strikes. For example, charge (i.e., chargedparticles) may build up in clouds due to convection in the atmosphere.Moreover, discharge would be initiated by a local drop in electric fieldpermittivity caused by air flow patterns.

Referring to FIG. 5, a sequence of cartesian graphs 500 illustrating ahydrodynamics simulation of Rayleigh-Taylor instability (i.e., RTinstability) is shown. RT instability is an instability of an interfacebetween two fluids of different densities that may occur when a lighterfluid is pushing a heavier fluid. One example of RT instability behaviormay include water suspended above oil. As shown in FIG. 5, thesimulation shows cartesian graphs 510, 520, 530, and 540 eachillustrating successive stages (i.e., snapshots, frames) in a sequence.In each of the cartesian graphs 510-540 (i.e., graphs), a y-component isshown from 0.4 to −0.5 and an x-component from 0 to 0.2. As depicted,the X and Y components may be arbitrary units of length, proportional tothe magnitude of the disturbing field (e.g., in the case of fluids, forpressure gradients; in the case of fields, for potential orelectric-fields; and in the case of lightning, a combination of thepressure drop created by the movement of layers of air against eachother and against the cloud particles and the local electric fieldcaused by the charge separation between the cloud and the ground).Correspondingly, for lightning, the X and Y components may be in unitsof tens of meters (m).

As observed and verified through modeling, the instability behavior mayalso correspond to the movement of charged particles in air.Accordingly, the charged particles in clouds would flow through regionsin the air where they may seek out oppositely charged surfaces/ground.The movement of these charges may be in the form of thin filaments(i.e., streamers). In the case of lightning, the primary branch iscalled a leader. Of note, with references to the graphs 510-540, at theKarman Vortex point 502 (i.e., initially at y=0 in FIG. 510), the RTinstability can be one underlying cause for the commencement of leaderformation (i.e., the progression of streamers).

Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, two diagrams (600A, 600B) of plasmachannels are shown. In two different representations, FIGS. 6A and 613depict plasma channel leaders (610A, 610B) (i.e., an ionized column,tip, leader) represented along with, at 620A, 620B, and the plasmachannel when stabilized. FIG. 6B further depicts the tail 630B of theleader 610B. Also depicted, is the plasma channel collapse (i.e.,spreading), at 640A, 640B, in the absence of electric and magneticfields.

In various implementations, specifically, the leader (e.g., 610A, 610B)may be formed in clouds where an electric field may be “high enough” tosustain breakdown (according to the Paschen curve where the altitude maydetermine the dielectric strength of the air (e.g., breakdown voltage(V) vs. pressure x gap (Torr inches)). In certain examples, waterdroplets may breakdown at 900 kV/m and ice crystals may breakdown at 500kV/m. In instances of negative flash discharge, the leader may take azig-zag path, in steps of 50 m and pauses of 20-100 μs. Further,negative flashes may discharge several charge centers in succession.Accordingly, there may be distinct pulses in current that can causeinitial and subsequent return strokes.

Further attributes of leaders (e.g., 610A, 610B) include having adiameter between 1 to 10 m, were approximately 100A current may beconcentrated in a highly ionized core having approximately 1 cmdiameter. The average velocity of propagation may be 2×10⁵ m/s. Also,the leader can form branches during propagation. As it nears theground/surfaces, charge center from objects like towers generate theirown “leaders”. When the leaders collide, a connection would beestablished leading to a flash occurrence.

According to inventive aspects described herein, such leaders may bestabilized by fast-moving electric and magnetic fields (e.g., travelingat speeds of 95,000 m/s). Further, discharge can occur when a leader mayconnect to an oppositely charged streamer. Also, various conductorsplaced in high charge zones may further tend to cause discharge, andthus release streamers themselves Moreover, as the plasma columnsgenerated by the leader become stabilized even after first discharge,subsequent discharges become much more likely.

Moreover, schemes and techniques described herein (with reference toFIG. 3) provide for the capability to prevent stable streamer formationthrough plasma channel distortion (i.e., field destabilization).According to inventive aspects, plasma channels would collapse when thestabilizing electric and magnetic fields are disrupted. As oscillatingelectric fields tend to “draw out” charges in the direction of theelectric field while oscillating magnetic fields tend to acceleratemoving charges in a perpendicular direction, when a certain frequency ofoscillation may be attained, the effects of the electric and magneticfields attaining a “maximum” level of plasma channel distortion lead toa complete collapse of the plasma channels. In certain instances, themaximum level of plasma channel distortion can be defined as the anglewhereby the plasma channel would bend away from the trajectory it wouldoriginally take in the absence of any perturbing field. For example, acomplete plasma channel collapse would happen at 90 degrees or 0.5 Piradian deflection. For aircraft applications, a collapse of fieldstrength to the point the dielectric breakdown strength of air (at thataltitude) would be sufficient. In various implementations, the collapseof field strength may be computed as: E (breakdown) E (lightning) cos(D) (where D is the distortion/deflection angle). Moreover, such aparameter would also be altitude dependent.

Referring to FIG. 7, a flowchart of an example operational method 700(i.e., procedure) for the aircraft systems 100, 200 (described withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2) is shown. Advantageously, the operationalmethod 700 can redirect stable streamer formation to avoid suchformation on an aircraft. The example procedure 700 may be implementedas part of an active lightning strike avoidance program 924 (as shown inFIG. 9).

In the example operation, prior to use, one or more beam sources 150,250 can be placed coupled to (e.g., attached to) to the aircraft surface110, 210 within the aerial system 100, 200 such that trailingdiscontinuous charged particle beams 170, 270 (e.g. beams) would radiatetowards the regions of the aircraft surfaces 110, 210 in respectivelightning zones 112, 212 (i.e., areas of the aircraft surfaces 110, 210that have the highest likelihood of leader attachment 180, 280) (e.g.,significantly above a predetermined leader attachment threshold).

At block 710, a presence of an electric-field above a predeterminedthreshold may be detected on or proximate to one or more aircraftsurfaces. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the one or moresensors 120, 220 (e.g., electroscope sensors) may detect whether“charging” has commenced (i.e., a presence of an electric-field isdetermined to be above a predetermined threshold) either on or near(proximate to) the one or more aircraft surfaces 110, 210. In certainimplementations, the predetermined threshold would be 5% of Dielectricbreakdown strength at the given altitude (and to be determined from thePaschen curve).

At block 720, in response to the detection, one or more beam sources maybe activated to generate an ionized column of charge away from theaircraft. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the one or more beamsources 150, 250 may be activated by the first and second controlsystems 130, 140 to generate an ionized column of charge (e.g., adiscontinuous charged particle beam 170, 270) away from the aircraft. Incertain implementations, in response to the detection of theelectric-field, the one or more beam sources 150, 250 may beautomatically activated (autonomously activated in certain cases).

Also, according to other aspects of the operational method, in responseto the activation, generating charged particle beams from the one ormore beam sources. For example, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, inresponse to the activation, charged particle beams 170, 270 may begenerated from the one or more beam sources 150, 250.

In one separate alternative operation, the one or more beam sources 150,250 may be configured to “fire” random beams at regular intervals for anentire duration of an aircraft flight through a particular storm. Insuch an operation, no detection of an electric field would be necessaryfor activation of the one or more beam sources 150, 250. Hence, in oneimplementation, either manually (by a pilot or operator) orautomatically (by computer operation), the one or more beam sources maybe activated when an aircraft is in the vicinity of a storm.

Referring to FIG. 8, a flowchart of an example operational method 800(i.e., procedure) for the aircraft system 300 (described with referenceto FIG. 3) is shown. Advantageously, the operational method 800 canachieve field destabilization and prevent stable streamers from formingon an aircraft. The example procedure 800 may be implemented as part ofan active lightning strike avoidance program 924 (as shown in FIG. 9).

In the example operation, prior to use, one or more metallicsub-surfaces 314 can be placed coupled to (e.g., attached to) to the oneor more aircraft surfaces 310 within the aerial system 310 such that alocal varying magnetic field 370 (i.e. one or more local varyingmagnetic field) would be generated proximate to the aircraft surface 310in respective lightning zones 312 (i.e., areas of the one or moreaircraft surfaces 310 that have the highest likelihood of leaderattachment 380) (e.g., significantly above a predetermined leaderattachment threshold).

At block 810, a presence of an electric-field above a predeterminedthreshold may be detected on or proximate to one or more aircraftsurfaces. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the one or more sensors 310(e.g., electroscope sensors) may detect whether “charging” has commenced(i.e., a presence of an electric-field is determined to be above apredetermined threshold) either on or near (proximate to) the one ormore aircraft surfaces 310. In certain implementations, thepredetermined threshold would be 5% of Dielectric breakdown strength atthe given altitude (and to be determined from the Paschen curve).

At block 820, in response to the detection, a current (e.g., between300-700A) would be provided to the one or more aircraft surfaces. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 3, the waveform generator 340 may be activatedby one or both of the first and second control systems 130, 140 toprovide a current to generate a local varying magnetic field 370 inclose proximity to the one or more aircraft surfaces 310. In certainimplementations, in response to the detection of the electric-field, thecurrent transmission may be automatically activated (autonomouslyactivated in certain cases).

Also, according to other aspects of the operational method, a localvarying magnetic field may be generated from the current on the one ormore aircraft surfaces. For example, with reference to FIG. 3, a localvarying magnetic field 370 may be generated around the one or moreaircraft surfaces 310 in the lighting zone 312 that corresponds to apotential point of leader attachment 380.

Advantageously, in certain implementations, lightning strike avoidanceprograms 924 as implementable on a computer system 900 (e.g., a flightcomputer system) and as described in below paragraphs (or aerial system300 with respect to FIG. 3), may automatically provide for the control,positioning, and operation of the one or more electroscope sensors 320,one or more metallic sub-surfaces 314, one or more aircraft surfaces310, and the waveform generator 340.

FIG. 9 is a diagram depicting the computer system 900 (e.g., networkedcomputer system and/or server) according to one implementation. FIG. 9illustrates example hardware components in the computer system 900 thatmay be used to observe lighting and avoid streamer formation and leaderattachment 180 to aircraft surfaces 110, 210, 310. In certainimplementations, the computer system 900 includes a computer 910 (e.g.,an aerial computer, a building management/operations computer, a flightcomputer system, flight controls and avionics computer system) which maybe implemented as a server or a multi-use computer that is coupled via anetwork 940 to one or more networked (client) computers 920, 930. Themethods 700, 800 may be stored as program code(s) (e.g., activelightning strike avoidance programs 924) in memory that may be performedby the computer 910, the computers 920, 930, other networked electronicdevices (not shown) or a combination thereof. In some implementations,the lightning strike avoidance programs 924 may read input data (e.g.,received measurements from the sensors 120, 130, 220, 230, 320 andpre-determined lighting analysis data) and provide controlled outputdata to various connected computer systems. In certain implementations,each of the computers 910, 920, 930 may be any type of computer,computer system, or other programmable electronic device. Further, eachof the computers 910, 920, 930 may be implemented using one or morenetworked (e.g., wirelessly networked) computers, e.g., in a cluster orother distributed computing system. Each of the computers 910, 920, 930may be implemented within a single computer or programmable electronicdevice, e.g., an aerial platform monitoring computer, aircraft flightcontrol computer, a ground-based flight control system, a flightmonitoring terminal, a laptop computer, a hand-held computer, phone,tablet, etc. In one example, the computer system 910 may be an onboardflight control computer (e.g., flight control computer that isconfigured to receive sensor data from the sensors 120, 130, 220, 230,320).

In one implementation, the computer 900 includes a central processingunit (CPU) 912 having at least one hardware-based processor coupled to amemory 914. The memory 914 may represent random access memory (RAM)devices of main storage of the computer 910, supplemental levels ofmemory (e.g., cache memories, non-volatile or backup memories (e.g.,programmable or flash memories)), read-only memories, or combinationsthereof. In addition to the memory 914, the computer system 900 mayinclude other memory located elsewhere in the computer 910, such ascache memory in the CPU 912, as well as any storage capacity used as avirtual memory (e.g., as stored on a storage device 916 or on anothercomputer coupled to the computer 910). The memory 914 may include theactive lightning strike avoidance programs 924 for aircraft surfaces110, 210, 310. In certain examples, the computer 900 may be a standalonearchitecture that can run a low-level script. Alternatively, it may beintegrated into a larger aircraft system that can run on any operatingsystem corresponding to the primary computing system of the aircraft.

In FIG. 9, the storage device 916 may include lightning analysis data.In other alternative implementations, the lightning analysis data may bestored in the memory 914, in memory in the computers 920, 930, or in anyother connected or networked memory storages devices. The computer 910may further be configured to communicate information externally. Tointerface with a user or operator (e.g., pilot, aerodynamicist, orengineer), the computer 910 may include a user interface (I/F) 918incorporating one or more user input devices (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse,a touchpad, and/or a microphone, among others) and a display (e.g., amonitor, a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, light emitting diode(LED), display panel, and/or a speaker, among others). In otherexamples, user input may be received via another computer or terminal.Furthermore, the computer 910 may include a network interface (I/F) 915which may be coupled to one or more networks 940 (e.g., a wirelessnetwork) to enable communication of information with other computers andelectronic devices. The computer 910 may include analog and/or digitalinterfaces between the CPU 912 and each of the components 914, 916, 918and 920. Further, other non-limiting hardware environments may be usedwithin the context of example implementations.

The computer 910 may operate under the control of an operating system926 and may execute or otherwise rely upon various computer softwareapplications, components, programs, objects, modules, data structures,etc. (such as the program 924 and related software). The operatingsystem 928 may be stored in the memory 914. Operating systems include,but are not limited to, UNIX® (a registered trademark of The OpenGroup), Linux® (a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds), Windows® (aregistered trademark of Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash., UnitedStates), AIX® (a registered trademark of International Business Machines(IBM) Corp., Armonk, N.Y., United States) i5/OS® (a registered trademarkof IBM Corp.), and others as will occur to those of skill in the art.The operating system 926 and the program 924 in the example of FIG. 9are shown in the memory 914, but components of the aforementionedsoftware may also, or in addition, be stored at non-volatile memory(e.g., on storage device 916 (data storage) and/or the non-volatilememory (not shown). Moreover, various applications, components,programs, objects, modules, etc. may also execute on one or moreprocessors in another computer coupled to the computer 910 via thenetwork 940 (e.g., in a distributed or client-server computingenvironment) where the processing to implement the functions of acomputer program may be allocated to multiple computers 920, 930 overthe network 940.

Various aspects of the present disclosure may be incorporated in asystem, a method, and/or a computer program product. The computerprogram product may include a computer-readable storage medium (ormedia) having computer-readable program instructions thereon for causinga processor to carry out aspects of the present disclosure. Thecomputer-readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer-readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer-readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire. For example, the memory 914, the storage device 916, orboth, may include tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media orstorage devices.

Computer-readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from acomputer-readable storage medium or to an external computer or externalstorage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local areanetwork, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network maycomprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers,wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computersand/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer-readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer-readable programinstructions for storage in a computer-readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer-readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present disclosure may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andprocedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming languageor similar programming languages. The computer-readable programinstructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on theuser's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through any type of network, includinga local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or theconnection may be made to an external computer (for example, through theInternet using an Internet Service Provider). In some implementations,electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logiccircuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logicarrays (PLA) may execute the computer-readable program instructions byutilizing state information of the computer-readable programinstructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order toperform aspects of the present disclosure.

Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of thedisclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer-readable program instructions.

These computer-readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general-purpose computer, a special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus. The machine is anexample of means for implementing the functions/acts specified in theflowchart and/or block diagrams. The computer-readable programinstructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage mediumthat can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus,and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that thecomputer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereincomprises an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement aspects of the functions/acts specified in the flowchartand/or block diagrams.

The computer-readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to perform a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagrams.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousimplementations of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block inthe flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, orportion of instructions, which comprises one or more executableinstructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In somealternative implementations, the functions noted in a block in a diagrammay occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocksshown in succession may be executed substantially concurrently, or theblocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in theblock diagrams and/or flowcharts, can be implemented by special purposehardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts orcarry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a thorough understanding of the disclosed concepts, which may bepracticed without some or all of these particulars. In other instances,details of known devices and/or processes have been omitted to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the disclosure. While some concepts will bedescribed in conjunction with specific examples, it will be understoodthat these examples are not intended to be limiting.

Unless otherwise indicated, the terms “first”, “second”, etc. are usedherein merely as labels, and are not intended to impose ordinal,positional, or hierarchical requirements on the items to which theseterms refer. Moreover, reference to, e.g., a “second” item does notrequire or preclude the existence of, e.g., a “first” or lower-numbereditem, and/or, e.g., a “third” or higher-numbered item.

Reference herein to “one example” means that one or more feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the example isincluded in at least one implementation. The phrase “one example” invarious places in the specification may or may not be referring to thesame example.

Illustrative, non-exhaustive examples, which may or may not be claimed,of the subject matter according to the present disclosure are providedbelow. Different examples of the device(s) and method(s) disclosedherein include a variety of components, features, and functionalities.It should be understood that the various examples of the device(s) andmethod(s) disclosed herein may include any of the components, features,and functionalities of any of the other examples of the device(s) andmethod(s) disclosed herein in any combination, and all of suchpossibilities are intended to be within the scope of the presentdisclosure. Many modifications of examples set forth herein will come tomind to one skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertainshaving the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoingdescriptions and the associated drawings.

Therefore, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not tobe limited to the specific examples illustrated and that modificationsand other examples are intended to be included within the scope of theappended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing description and theassociated drawings describe examples of the present disclosure in thecontext of certain illustrative combinations of elements and/orfunctions, it should be appreciated that different combinations ofelements and/or functions may be provided by alternative implementationswithout departing from the scope of the appended claims. Accordingly,parenthetical reference numerals in the appended claims are presentedfor illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scopeof the claimed subject matter to the specific examples provided in thepresent disclosure.

1. A method comprising: detecting, on or proximate to one or moresurfaces of an aircraft, a presence of an electric field above apredetermined threshold; and in response to the detection, activatingone or more beam sources to generate an ionized column of charge awayfrom the aircraft.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or ore beamsources comprise one or ore gated radioactive sources, one or morethermionic emitters, or both.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the oneor more thermionic emitters comprise an accelerating tube or a miniaturecyclotron, and wherein the one or more gated radioactive sourcescomprise one or more alpha emitters, positron emitters, beta emitters,gamma ray sources, or neutron radiation sources.
 4. The method of claim1, further comprising: in response to the activation, generating chargedparticle beams from the one or more beam sources.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the ion beams are discontinuous.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the discontinuous ion beams are transmitted in pulses timeintervals between 1 ms and 100 ms for each pulse of the discontinuousion beams.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the beam source isconfigured to emit energy at a length corresponding to a mean free pathgreater than a path threshold, wherein the path threshold corresponds toa predetermined safe distance interval.
 8. The method of claim 6,wherein the predetermined safe distance interval corresponds to adistance required to avoid a stable streamer formation on the aircraft.9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining whether theone or more surfaces are in a lightning zone, wherein the lighteningzone comprises regions of the one or more surfaces that aresignificantly above a predetermined leader attachment threshold.
 10. Asystem comprising: one or more sensors coupled to one or more aircraftsurfaces and configured to detect whether a presence of an electricfield, on or proximate to the one or more aircraft surfaces, is above apredetermined threshold; and one or more control systems coupled to theone or more sensors, wherein the one or more control systems areconfigured to received sensor data from the one or more sensors and toactivate one or more beam sources to generate an ionized column ofcharge away from an aircraft.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein theone or more beams sources comprise either one or more thermionicemitters or one or more gated radioactive sources.
 12. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the one or more thermionic emitters comprise anaccelerating tube or a miniature cyclotron, and wherein the one or moregated radioactive sources comprise one or more of alpha emitters,positron emitters, beta emitters, gamma ray sources, or neutronradiation sources.
 13. The system of claim 10, further comprising: apower source coupled to the waveform generator, wherein the power sourcecomprises one of a generator, an alternator, an ultracapacitor, asupercapacitor, a regenerative system, an auxiliary power unit, or abattery.
 14. (canceled)
 15. (canceled)
 16. (canceled)
 17. (canceled) 18.(canceled)
 19. (canceled)
 20. (canceled)